Fun day in Albuquerque: learn to hunt, fish and shoot by Mia Anstine This sure sounds like a lot of fun! If you are in the area. Be sure to take your kids. Don't pass it up. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, AUG. 14, 2012: FREE FUN! LEARN TO HUNT, FISH, SHOOT AND MORE AT OUTDOOR EXPO ALBUQUERQUE – Have you ever wanted to feel what it’s like to shoot a [...] Read more of this post

The state Department of Conservation has begun a two-year effort to determine how many black bears are living in Missouri following an increase in sightings in recent years. ST. LOUIS (AP) — The state Department of Conservation has begun a two-year effort to determine how many black bears are living in Missouri following an increase in sightings in recent years. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Thursday that biologists have been tracking the bears in 11 counties in far southern Missouri since last fall. The animals apparently are migrating to Missouri from Arkansas, which imported black bears from Minnesota four decades ago. Missouri's chief biologist, Jeff Beringer, uses doughnuts to bait large steel traps. When the bears go inside the traps, a grate slams shut. Sightings and anecdotal tales make it clear that the population is growing, he said, but nobody has any idea how many are out there. "It's like walking up to a two-acre pond and saying, 'How many bass are in there?''' Beringer said. "That's about where we are at estimating bears.'' So far, the crew has caught and released 49 bears, including five on Tuesday in Howell and Oregon counties, north of the Arkansas border. Thirty of them have been equipped with GPS collars, allowing the study group to track their travels and locate their dens. Beringer and his crew are counting the bears in far southern Missouri, where the hilly wooded Ozarks provide perfect bear habitat. Next year, the group will go to 12 southeastern counties, stretching north into Jefferson and Franklin counties. When a bear is found, it is sedated for about an hour so workers can attach the collars. The crew has been monitoring 25 traps daily. Beringer said the traps are set deep in the woods on ridgetops, the better to allow doughnut aroma to waft through the trees. Like most people, bears love doughnuts, Beringer said. "Bears go right for them,'' he said. "If you live on bugs and acorns, a doughnut is delicious.'' The project also has rigged 375 "hair snare'' locations throughout the study area. Fish-oil bait is ringed by barbed wire and when bears brush against them they leave bits of fur. A graduate student assistant from the University of Missouri at Columbia will pluck the samples for a DNA study. The bear project is a collaboration between the state, the University of Missouri and Mississippi State University. The scientists will estimate the bear population when they gather enough data. "Clearly, the population is on the increase,'' Beringer said. "We don't want them to be so abundant that they become a nuisance. The first thing is to get a handle on how many there are.'' Black bears almost always run away when they encounter people, unless a mother bear believes her cubs are in danger. There is no record of a black bear hurting anyone in the state. Conservation agents say people should not feed bears, or leave food around that bears can get because they will come back for more. When they start to expect handouts, they can become a nuisance. Beringer said Missouri may someday allow bear hunting, which it has prohibited for decades. Arkansas, with an estimated bear population of about 3,500, has allowed limited hunting since 1980. Population estimates nationwide run around 200,000 black bears, most of them in mountain states east and west.

Trump Safari Controversy: Sponsor Fires Celebrity Apprentice Over Hunting Photos Read more: http://www.eonline.com/news/trump_safari_controversy_sponsor_fires/301511#ixzz1pGuMs7wn     Not all outdoorsy types are down with the Trump boys' hunting hobby. Camping World, one of the show's sponsors this season, has vowed not to work with Celebrity Apprentice in the future following the release earlier this week of photos of Donald Trump Jr. and younger brother Eric posing with a dead elephant, a crocodile and other animals they killed while on safari in Zimbabwe last year. But the RV-supply company, which has not advertised on NBC during the show but has spent money as an affiliated sponsor along with Good Sam Roadside Assistance and will be featured on an upcoming episode, says this isn't a judgment on hunting or people who hunt. So, why is Camping World "not thrilled" with the Trumps? MORE: Donald Trump's Sons Defend Killing Animals on African Safari: We Have "Utmost Respect for Nature" "I was not happy with the pictures that I saw," company CEO Marcus Lemonis explained to E! News. "It has nothing to do with whether people hunt or not. There was a photo of a leopard—they’re endangered." (Per the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, leopards are considered "threatened" in Africa.)   "At the end of the day," Lemonis continued, "when you associate with someone, you have to deal with consequences that go along with them. Whether they hunt or not is irrelevant to me...I saw a leopard and an elephant [in the safari photos]. I wasn’t crazy about that. This isn’t anything personal against Donald Trump himself or the show. People are going to hunt. I know Trump himself is not an advocate of hunting. I just don’t agree with what happened. I have a right to choose who I am affiliated with. We won’t be a sponsor in the future." Papa Trump appeared to be in his boys' court as late as yesterday, telling Extra, that Don Jr. and Eric are "expert hunters." But he may have made for a chillier dinner table (if not a chillier pretaped boardroom) by tweeting this today in response to the new development: "I'm not a hunter and don't approve of killing animals. I strongly disagree with my sons who are hunters, but they acted legally and did what lots of hunters do." When the photos made the rounds, Don Jr. denied leaking them himself for publicity purposes—but also said that he had nothing to apologize for, as the meat from his and Eric's various kills went to feeding an entire village. "We are both avid outdoorsmen and were brought up hunting and fishing with our Grandfather who taught us that nothing should ever be taken for granted or wasted," the brothers said in a statement as Don Jr. went about defending himself to a ravenous pack of critics on Twitter. —Reporting by Sharareh Drury Read more: http://www.eonline.com/news/trump_safari_controversy_sponsor_fires/301511#ixzz1pGuMs7wn

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 29, 2013   SCI Takes Battle Over Polar Bear Imports to the U.S. Supreme Court   Washington, DC – Safari Club International (SCI) today filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the Court to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2008 listing of the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.  After the listing of the species, private conservation funding generated through sustainable use hunting evaporated.  By filing this petition, SCI is seeking to rectify this bad public policy.   “The listing of the polar bear was not called for under the law or science,” said SCI President Craig Kauffman.  “The polar bear enjoys historically high population numbers and occupies its entire historic range.  Canada has the best and most scrutinized conservation program in the world for its polar bear populations.  The listing of the polar bear was based on speculative projections about the impact of climate change on its habitat.  The listing has done -- and will continue to do -- more harm than good.”   The listing led to a ban on the import of polar bear trophies from Canada by U.S. hunters.  Before the ban went into effect, U.S. hunters had been allowed to import polar bears harvested from six approved populations in Canada.  These imports generated almost $1,000,000 in fees that was used for polar bear research and conservation in the U.S. and Russia.  U.S. hunters also contributed millions of dollars annually to local communities and companies, further encouraging sound management of the species.  The listing of the polar bear has eliminated these sources of conservation dollars, to the detriment of the species.    SCI is joined in filing the petition by Conservation Force and the Congress of Racial Equality.  All three groups sued the FWS in 2008 over the listing of the polar bear.  The parties have been litigating the case in the District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia since that time.  Both of those courts upheld the listing of the polar bear.   SCI and the other parties argued to the Supreme Court that the listing was contrary to the ESA in several ways.  First, the FWS failed to establish that the polar bear meets the definition of a threatened species.  Second, the FWS failed to explain its conclusion that the bear qualifies as “threatened” despite the fact that the modeling on which the Service relied indicates that 6,000-8,000 bears will exist 45 years from now.  And third, the FWS failed to take in account Canada’s extremely successful conservation program, including sustainable use hunting, before listing the species.   This will mark the fourth time that SCI has ventured to the Supreme Court.  In one case, the Supreme Court cited SCI’s brief in its published opinion.  SCI has filed Supreme Court briefs in cases involving depictions of animal cruelty, the Second Amendment, and the sound management of roadless areas of federal land.   The Supreme Court likely will decide whether to review the polar bear case sometime in the fall.  While SCI and the other groups have made strong arguments for reviewing this case, the Court regularly receives around 10,000 petitions a year and grants fewer than 100.  The future of successful hunting-based conservation programs in Canada and the ability of U.S. hunters to contribute to those programs hang in the balance.    “All hunters and individuals concerned with the expansive overreach by the ESA should consider financially supporting SCI, as fights at the Supreme Court are costly and require considerable resources,” concluded Kauffman.   For those interested in making a financial contribution please send donations Attn: Litigation, Safari Club International, 501 2nd St, NE, Washington, DC 20002.   MEDIA CONTACT: Nelson Freeman; Nfreeman@safariclub.org   Safari Club International – First For Hunters is the leader in protecting the freedom to hunt and in promoting wildlife conservation worldwide. SCI’s has approximately 200 Chapters worldwide and its membership represents all 50 of the United States as well as 106 other countries. SCI’s proactive leadership empowers sportsmen to be contributing community members and participants in sound wildlife management and conservation. Visit the home page www.safariclub.org or call (520) 620-1220 for more information.   ###    Washington, District of Columbia • Ottawa, Canada • Tucson, Arizona www.safariclub.org

Merry Christmas everyone!! Just curious what is on everyones Christmas lists?? I didnt ask for much this year...tried to play it a little more conservative! HA!! No, honestly wasnt much on mine, Just a new Double tree stand, and a I already got an early gift to ourselves...a new TV for our garage! We entertain alot so we needed a bigger TV so that we can watch football!! Other than that, I didnt ask for much!! Lets hear what you all ask the jolly man in the red suit for!!

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Happy Labor Day everyone from Clear Value Deals!!! To show how much we appreciate all of your service to this country we are giving away $500 of coupons to you America's backbone! To claim your coupon code please go towww.clearvaluedeals.com and enter the code: "LABOR" at time of checkout and receive $5 off entire order! Hurry though there are only 100 coupon codes available!

Should I be sad – Looking at search engine terms by Mia Anstine Do you happen to have a blog? Do you ever look to see what search engine terms people type in that refer them to your site? Well I just did, and I am appalled. The top referer today is "who is the older dark haired lady hunter on tv". WHAT?! Am I "older"? Well, maybe. [...] Read more of this post

We are speaking with Dead Ringer About Their Line of Broadheads

Indiana Sees 82 Percent Spike In Lyme Disease Cases Indiana's confirmed human cases of Lyme disease soared 82 percent over a five-year period, and experts say the surge might have been caused by an increase in the tiny ticks that spread the illness to humans. LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) — Indiana's confirmed human cases of Lyme disease soared 82 percent over a five-year period, and experts say the surge might have been caused by an increase in the tiny ticks that spread the illness to humans. The Journal & Courier reported (http://bit.ly/paPVQD ) that Lyme disease cases in Indiana rose from 34 in 2005 to 62 in 2009, the most recent year for which detailed data has been released. Health officials aren't sure what's behind the increase, but theories range from an upswing in reporting of cases to an increase in ticks infected with the Lyme disease bacterium. Deer ticks, which are black-legged and about the size of sesame seeds, feed on deer and can pick up the bacterium when they also feed on white-footed mice. Infected ticks then spread it to humans by feeding on them. Purdue University entomologist Timothy Gibb said the deer tick is most likely being transported south and east across the state on the backs of deer, especially as the state's deer population increases. Antibiotics easily cure most people of Lyme disease. But early symptoms are vague and flu-like, except for Lyme's hallmark round, red rash. People who aren't treated can develop arthritis, meningitis and some other serious illnesses. "Chances of transmission are pretty slim but still the consequences of the disease are serious enough that we've got to be careful about it,'' Gibb said. "It's prudent for people to use discretion as much as possible to prevent it.'' In northwestern Indiana, where a possible surge in cases has occurred, nearly 20 people at a recent town hall meeting in Ogden Dunes said they had Lyme disease. Jennifer House, an epidemiologist with the state health department, said she could not confirm the number of Lyme disease cases in that area. She said the situation in Ogden Dunes, a town along Lake Michigan, is under review. Gibb said it would not be surprising for that area to see a surge in cases since northwestern Indiana, northeastern Illinois and southern Wisconsin are "traditionally a hot spot for deer.'' He said less than 3 percent of deer ticks — the only tick species that transmits Lyme disease — are infected with the bacterium. State health officials say May through September is the period in which ticks are most active. In 2009, 83 percent of Lyme disease cases were reported during that span, with the bulk occurring in June, July and August. Six cases were reported in September and five in October. Gibb said that as adults, deer ticks primarily feed on deer and not people. "So hunters or taxidermists who deal with deer will sometimes get the adult ticks on them,'' he said. Other ticks such as the American dog tick are more common and often find their way onto humans, Gibb said.